Töfra Káta Hetja

10.03.2007

Born: 15:55, 263 grams, double dewclaws

Father: Intuch IS Ch Hektor

Mother: Töfra Birta Freyja 

  Káta has a very unusual story to her birth and it made her quite special to us so we decided we couldn't let her go too far away. She is co-owned and lives in Reykjavík.

Káta was a puppy who is incredibly blessed to be alive. We called her Hetja because that means hero, she showed incredible strength and staying power but her name would not be complete without her first name Káta which means "happy" and that she has been from the very start. She has the zest for life and joy of being alive just like her mother and I felt that her namesake my beloved Káta (German Pointer) would not mind us honouring her with a namesake like Káta Hetja.

Rúnar had a big part in her staying alive after I helped her into the world. I was so unprepared for what happened and didn't know how we could fix it so I almost gave up on her and wanted to turn my attention back to Birta and her unborn puppy, but today I can definitely not understand how I could ever think of letting that little sweetheart go and am eternally grateful to Rúnar for not giving up. After giving birth to three healthy puppies Birta had been trying and trying to push out the fourth one and nothing seemed to happen, we could feel it in the birth canal and the little feet peaked out a few times but we couldn't figure out why it kept popping back in again and again, nothing was happening and Birta was getting tired. I felt the puppy must surely be a big one and I don't want it to be born dead. So I opened up and saw the little feet, I also saw that they were completely dry, so I tried to grab them and started to pull. I pulled and got her little but out, then I tried to pull some more and her huge belly seemed to be stopping the rest of her coming out. She was totally dry and extremely big for poor Birta to expel on her own. So while she was half way out I was not going to let her die, I grabbed her and pulled with all my might, Birta screamed from the pain. I don't doubt this might have been the size of puppy that might have caused a vet to do a cesarian section. But out she came and I grabbed the umbilical cord and held it tight between my finger and thumb. It was very close to her body and I couldn't pull the cord out any further because the afterbirth was obviously stuck inside still. It would have to be cut but we would need to be very careful not to cut either Birta or the puppy, not much room for error. Just as I was going to ask Rúnar to cut the cord it snapped, I couldn't hold it, it was so slippery and the strength with which is snapped amazed me. There was no way I could have held it or cut it and now the poor puppy was bleeding to death. I have had a couple puppies with so litte cord left from the female biting them too close that they needed a piece of string tied on them but this little puppy had NOTHING left, there was a hole on her belly and it was bleeding profusely. I am an extremely blood shy person and not a good one in a crisis but strangely enough I kept calm (as calm as is humanely possible in this situation I think) and decided that this was in our hands. She was alive but seemed a bit in shock, very quiet, still and calm. Rúnar put a finger on the hole to stopp the bleeding and I ran to get the syptic powder that I luckily had in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. Oddly enough that powder was bought on a whim one day when I coincidently saw it in a petstore and thought that might be good to have around in case I cut the nails too short on the dogs someday (which until then I never had had to use it).

So the powder was opened and I put a dab on and it stopped the bleeding pretty much. I looked at Rúnar and said well what can we do, we might just have to let her go. Birta wasn't finished yet and it was a Saturday the vets were not open. He said look at that face we need to save her at whatever cost! So I quickly phoned the vet, Rúnar kept a finger on the wound and held her in his arms. The vet said meet me there so we grabbed everyone together, put all the puppies in a box (except Káta of course) got Birta´s collar on, put the other dogs in their cages and ran out to the car. The neighbour saw us running like a house on fire with Birta all covered in blood, I can just imagine what she was thinking! :-)

So the long trip to the vets office and I had to hold Káta with pressure on the wound while the puppies were in the back seat and Birta in her cage in the back, knowing that she was about to give birth to the next puppy any time...that drive was a long 20 minutes that's for sure. So we got there and the vet took one look at Káta and got everything ready to sew her up. It took two stitches so needless to say it's not something we could have fixed on our own. He quickly checked all the other puppies, all were fine and Birta who was also fine and unbelievably calm. She was crying when she heard the screams from Káta up on the table and very stressed since she was actually still in labour but she kept her wits to her none the less. So as soon as Káta was finished we jumped back in the car and drove home. 17:39 the last puppy was born and although she needed a slight massage to get her breathing going (had almost drowned on the way out after waiting so long) she too was fine!

What a day that will never be forgotten, although it seems like a whole lifetime ago already and it was only 10 weeks ago!

6 weeks old - 7 weeks old - 8 weeks old

In the hands that saved her life! Káta has always been a "Daddy's" girl and the bond they share will no doubt always be strong. It was a very tough decision to not keep her in our home but I think she is in a very loving home and will have a much fuller life with them than she would have had with us and all our dogs.

 I

Around two weeks old just after she opened her eyes and already she had a huge smile on her face that says I'm so glad to be alive! And somebody else had just as big a smile on his face. :-)

Hanging out with her auntie Frigg. Then playing with her sister Karma Gullbrá.

Below are 3-4 week photos.

4-5 weeks and what a character. She is so curious and a bit of a tease, you gotta love that little face and those expressive eyes! WHO ME?!

5-6 weeks old already. Here she is hiding under the papers, she looks like she is really enjoying this new game. What an imagination she has, always comes up with new stuff to get into. She also figured out that if she climbed up on her Mom's back then she could get over the gate. We´ve so far left the gate open at night so Birta could get in to them...so much for that brilliant idea, I guess I'll just have to wake up to let her in from now on. This morning I woke up to the sound of pitter pattering of little feet on the floor from the kitchen to the living room and back again through the hallway. I listened and heard her little "laughing" sound (it's like loud breathing when she has that huge grin on her face, hard to explain) and running around like a house on fire all by herself, playing in the water bowl etc. Boy, was she happy and proud of herself! Too cute but no photos so early in the morning!!! STRETCH. She has always had a very thick and long coat but we have not been sure whether she will be a longhair or be like her father with an extremely correct fullcoat.

Seem here at 6 weeks Káta the little miracle girl with the big happy grin. What an awesome head and well, she is just my favourite overall in structure.

This was just TOO CUTE. Somebody is trying to be "Daddy's" girl. She had just finished licking his face and nibbling his beard a few minutes earlier.

7 weeks and Káta fell asleep while chewing her cage, with her ear in the water bowl and with a big smile on her face. LOL

Frigg showing calming signals and Káta with her ears all the way back trying her best to be careful but so wanting to play. You can't really see it on the photo but Káta also has a calming signal of licking her lips, the little tongue is sticking out. It is always so amazing to see their signals and how they instinctively know how to speak together. Of course Mom was more than happy to play!!!

There is ONE store (in the whole country I think beside pet stores) that allows dogs to come in, it's a garden center with a pet corner where they sell all kinds of pet supplies. So we took the pups to check it out, of course they had to be held since their vaccinations were just done the day before. Káta's new 5 year old "sister" is in front (a very cute mixed breed female)!

Here is Káta with her new "Mom" Svandís and "sister" Aría.

Eight weeks old!! Totally unbelievable, where did the time go?

Hófi taking Káta through the tunnel and then Káta by herself. Always has her little ears in the least threatening position, she is very intuned to calming signals and dog language.

So finally the weather was half decent and out came the swimming pool. It didn't last for long because they made holes and the top layer lost all the air but that just made it easier for them to climb inside. The one that was totally crazy about it and couldn't get enough was Klói, he went in right away. Birta went in too to show them how it's done, it's her favourite activity.

Before Káta left she had to try the mini see saw BUT we realised they have grown too much again and we need to put a longer plank on there already.

Káta is leaving, with her new collar with a pink bone nametag on it and she seems to be so happy with our choice of an owner for her! Gave her lots of kisses so it made us feel very good.

I will hopefully be able to post more photos of Káta as she grows up.